Honey, I Believe That’s Your Misunderstanding

Chapter 35

Grace almost blurted out her thoughts.

Miffed and unable to overcome her frustration, she pouted and let out a huff.

In turn, Lucas spoke slyly.

—You’re not cursing me out in your mind, are you?

“Well, I don’t know. Why would I ever think such things.”

Unconsciously, she answered frankly without pressing down on her temperament.

—Oh…

Hearing the bold reply, Lucas let out a low chuckle.

—Were you imagining that I’d do something strange?

After he settled down again, he asked this.

—I can’t do that. He’s my most loyal subordinate.

“Exactly. Yes, that’s right. You can’t possibly do something like that.”

Dejected, Grace slumped back on the sofa.

—Next to my mother and Jaime, the butler is someone I trust greatly. He wouldn’t go as far as jumping into a sea of fire with me, but he’s someone who’d do his best to stop me from doing so.

It was clear from his tone just how much faith he had in the man.

Someone who’d do his best to stop him from plunging into a sea of fire. That was wonderful to hear.

Hugging her knees as she sat on the sofa, she once again looked at the picture frame that she had set down earlier.

A cute little boy, crying.

A family that looked truly harmonious.

Just as he trusted them, his vassals trusted him as well.

Tenderly sweeping the picture as though she was wiping the tears of the black-haired boy, she spoke.

“You’re quite different from what I thought, Your Excellency.”

—Is that so? What was your impression of me before?

Grace hesitated for a moment, but she soon answered truthfully.

“To be honest, I thought that you were very scary. A very, very frightening person.”

—I can’t deny that. I know how frightening I must look.

Lucas answered back, his voice bearing much weight.

It was a low, soft voice.

A heavy baritone.

Sounding so cold, yet with a deliberate cadence.

At first, she reacted only with fear whenever she heard his voice. But now, it sounded a little different.

He was admitting to being a frightening man, yet why didn’t that sound scary?

Grace burst into a peal of laughter.

‘We aren’t even face to face, but maybe it’s because we keep talking?’

It didn’t seem like this man was far away at all.

Rather, he felt closer to her—more than anyone else.

It had been a while since they saw each other’s faces, but they had been talking almost every second of the day. Was it because of that?

Without seeing him with her own eyes, the awkwardness or fear that she might have felt had diminished, and all that’s left was the curiosity she held for her, deepening even further.

Standing up and walking towards the window, Grace raised one hand to block the sunlight coming in through the pane. And, as her eyes were closed with thin streams of light pouring through her fingers, Grace murmured.

“Have you always been so mischievous, Your Excellency?”

—I’d rather say I’m partial to playfulness.

“Sure. Then, were you always so playful?”

—I think it runs in the family.

“By the sound of that, you must have been especially playful.”

He laughed.

—I promise that I’ll never play a mean joke on you, Grace.

“Meaning, you must be planning on teasing me a whole lot.”

—I’m sorry, but I can’t give up on that.

This time, she laughed.

Grace went back to the sofa and lay back completely.

She observed her surroundings in a relaxed manner.

On the fireplace’s ledge, placed one after another on the walls, here and there in the bookshelves…

Large and small frames adorned the study.

There were books all over the place, but the volumes that seemed to be important were placed upon a bookcase on the right wall, away from the sunlight.

With a low table, fluffy cushions, somewhat worn-out blankets, the study had a much more comfortable atmosphere than Grace had initially anticipated.

Contrary to how the owner of this place looked externally, the study was very cozy.

Lucas Blacke. Somehow, this space resembled him.

It’s impossible to tell when far away, but once near, you’d be able to see so many different facets to him.

—May I ask you a question?

As Grace was quietly looking around his space, she replied comfortably.

“It’s Your Excellency’s turn to ask. Please go ahead.”

He paused for a moment, then with a careful tone, he asked.

—Your phobia. By any chance, do you know how it started?

“Ah, that. Umm, well… It started when I had an accident during my childhood.”

—An accident?

Like shards of a broken glass, her memories of that day were fragmented.

“Yes. I can’t remember what exactly happened, it’s just, I had been sleeping, but I suddenly woke up feeling like someone was looking at me. And when I opened my eyes, that was there.”

—What was it?

“Scissors.”

—Scissors?

“Yes, but not just that. It was a pair of scissors—right in front of me. The tip was so very close, as if it was already piercing my eye.”

That sharp tip came so utterly close to her that she couldn’t even breathe.

If she were to move even just one millimeter, it felt as if it would mercilessly dig into her eye right then.

The poignant memory, too, seemed to pierce her whenever she recalled it, leaving her in a fit of panic.

Grace brought a fist to her heart, hurriedly trying to erase the memory of that day from her mind.

While deeply breathing in and out, she did her best to temper the fear that was threatening to rise back up.

—Grace, are you alright?

“…Yes, I’m fine, Your Excellency. I’m fine.”

Grace answered back, deliberately making her voice sound bright.

“Really, I don’t remember much of it. All that’s left is the fear that bothers me. Since both my eyes are fine right now, it never actually stabbed me.”

But why did her eyes still hurt whenever she’d think of that time?

It was a palpable sensation, as though her eyeball had truly been pierced by that sharp tip.

To the point of incapacitating her with fear.

“It’s only because it occurred to me while I was too young. Nothing more.”

Grace had no desire at all to find out more about what had happened on that day.

Above all, she had no one to ask.

Her father would always sigh heavily, making it no secret that he was disgusted by his daughter’s phobia.

On Norman’s part, there’s no need to talk about how he might react.

That would leave the butler, who had been working at the O’Ellin residence for more than two decades now. However, he had never been kind to Grace.

In any case, Grace’s memory of that day eventually caused her trauma. Whenever she saw something pointedly sharp, she would become inconsolably terrified.

Just thinking about it now was already sending chills down her spine.

“After that, I became afraid of all sharp things.”

—…I see.

Lucas had not said what was on his mind until now.

Feeling awkward for no reason, Grace got up from the sofa and browsed through the full bookshelves.

There were four bookshelves in total, and they were all so tall that there was a need for a ladder to reach the higher rows.

There was enough space in the middle of the shelves to place a two-person loveseat, and there were also smaller bookshelves placed near that sofa.

It’s not to the point that it could be called a library, but every book stored here was undeniably precious.

Not just old books, but there were also many books that were out of print.

‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe it’s here… Grandel’s illustrated encyclopedia of plants and flowers!’

Eyes wide open, Grace pulled out one of the volumes.

It was an encyclopedic series from more than 120 years ago and was no longer available anywhere.

There were many other illustrated guides similar to this, but no other books described plants in such detail other than Grandel’s guide, not to mention the sheer scale of it.

She heard that just the task of understanding it was difficult because of Grandel’s frequent use of the archaic language. And, as if that wasn’t enough, Grandel’s handwriting itself was so difficult to make out. It was for these reasons that his guide never received its much deserved acclaim during his contemporary.

However, as time passed, it was reevaluated and thus recognized as an invaluable source of knowledge.

‘It’s in His Excellency’s study! Is he also interested in plants? But if you look at his face, he’s definitely the type who likes to eat meat…’

Once again, Lucas’s voice started to flow inside Grace’s ears as she was smiling at the thought of him.

—…ace!

“Huk, you surprised me. W-What is it?”

—Did I startle you? I’m sorry. No matter how much I spoke, you didn’t answer, so I kept calling your name.

“Ah, I was thinking about something else while I was choosing a book. I guess that’s why I couldn’t hear your voice.”

—I see. Indeed, well, it’s only natural. You couldn’t possibly think about me every second of the day.

Lucas voiced his understanding.

But at the same time, there strangely seemed to be a mix of sulking in his tone.

Not just sulking, it even sounded like he was pouting.

‘…Um, did I offend him?’

There’s nothing about what she said that would have offended him. But on the other hand, it’s understandably rude if the other person would just suddenly disappear mid-conversation.

Awkwardly tapping her finger against the book, Grace spoke carefully.

“Then from now on, I’ll do it whenever I can.”

He stayed silent for a while, but then asked.

—What do you mean?

“A-About Your Excellency.”

—…What?

“I’ll, um, I’ll think about Your Excellency w-whenever I can.”

For reasons unknown to her, he didn’t answer.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

Somehow, she felt like she made the mood between them awkward, so she herself felt awkward as well.

In hindsight, what she said did sound strange.

‘But it would be too much to go back on my word suddenly, wouldn’t it?’